September 11 Remembrance Ceremony
The 2019 Commander Dan Shanower September 11 Memorial marks the 18th anniversary since the attacks on America. Naperville, Illinois was one of the first cities in the country to dedicate a memorial to those who died in 2001. The memorial was inspired by Naperville native Naval Commander Dan Shanower, who died in the attack on the Pentagon. Dedicated on September 11, 2003, the memorial is nestled between the DuPage River and the Municipal Center in downtown Naperville.
The Dan Shanower September 11 Memorial takes its theme from an article written by Commander Shanower entitled “Freedom Isn’t Free.” It includes more than 140 faces created by Naperville schoolchildren symbolizing the casualties of September 11. These faces are molded onto the surface of a 48-foot retaining wall that serves as a backdrop to the memorial that also incorporates an eternal flame.
Commander Dan Shanower
Commander Dan F. Shanower, 40, combined strong patriotism with a taste for adventure and a wonderful sense of humor. A Navy intelligence officer, he had just begun gathering information on the World Trade Center attacks to brief his superiors when the hijacked plane that struck the Pentagon killed him.
Commander Shanower grew up in Naperville, and attended Naperville public schools, later graduating from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He joined the Navy and was commissioned as an officer in 1985.
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